Unpopular Opinion: Desire

Unpopular opinion: What you want is not always good for you.
There is a strange paradox that guides modern western (specifically American culture). In a person's overall life, that person is taught that if he/she wants anything, it should just be taken, at any given time. However, the paradox lies that this is not good advice in nearly any specific area of a person's life. For instance, if I ask for health advice and somebody replies that I should just eat whatever I want whenever, that is quite terrible advice and it will lead to a litany of health problems. Additionally, if somebody asks me for relationship advice, and I reply that that person should just sleep with whomever he/she wants at any time, it probably will not go too well. However, the prevailing attitude of this culture is that if you want something, you should go out and get it. But desires are often adverse to what is good for a person. Discipline may be desired, but the things that cultivate discipline are rarely. Morality as an idea my be desired, but never if it gets in the way of more selfish wants. I heard a stat that 97% of people will exit out of a youtube video if it does not load within the first three seconds. There is a prevailing impatience within this culture, and a vastly negative consequence is that all of the good that having to wait does is undone by everything being at the ready. The internet allows for this in so many differing ways. But this attitude is so detrimental in so many differing ways. So much good in character is gained from the waiting, but ultimately strength in character, integrity, and patience have given way to personal pleasure and the mentality that what a person wants that person has the right to. Nothing could be further from the truth, but unfortunately another prevailing ideology is that there is no such thing as an objective moral reality. What is good for you is good for you and what is wrong for me is wrong for me. The entire satanic bible hinges on one phrase: "Do as thou wilt." Because ultimately, even the being who is seen as more evil than anybody else knows that this mentality does not create men and women of character. I look around and I see pleasure-obsessed people who are intent on doing whatever they want and it has created a society of people killing each other because they do not get their way. The scary thing, even as I type these words, is that most people will not even see this as wrong. They will continue to think that they for some strange reason have a right to whatever they desire, not understanding the long-term adverse affects that such a mentality has on their character. People today generally like ideologies more than realities. For instance, people like the idea of being moral more than actually applying virtue. And this type of mentality is sucking our society dry of morality. It is sucking our society dry of good people and good thinkers. Sure, we still have smart people, but I am talking about people who have the ability to think well because their patience has cultivated it. Realistically, if you look at so many of the tragedies that beset modern western culture, it comes from that one prevailing sentiment, "Do as thou wilt." And what a sentiment it is.
But I do think that just writing about the problem without writing about the solution is not helping anything. People need to be willing to work, and work hard, for that which they do not have but perhaps want, and what is more, it is incredibly vital that people understand that not everything that they want is healthy for them. In fact, I would say that much of what we want is at best, neutral. Very few things that we earnestly desire help the world in some practical or substantial way. Our best option is either to shift what we desire or be willing to lay aside our quest for what we desire in favor of what is right. We need to reassess how entirely vital virtue is, and seek to understand objectively what is right. We cannot think that we can just skate by, doing what we wilt and that everything will turn out right and good. People will be neglected. Rightness and justice will be strewn aside. Rather than doing what we wilt, we need to 'do what is right, regardless of what thou wilt or thou think.' So maybe getting drunk just because one wants is not the best option. Maybe taking the job with the best salary automatically may not be what is best objectively for the world.
It is fine with me if you do not agree. I do not think many people will agree; this is just one man's unpopular opinion.

Unpopular Opinion: Tragedy

Unpopular Opinion: 'feeling bad' about a terrible tragedy does nothing to make it better, coding your facebook profile picture with the French Flag does not make anything better. What happened in Paris this past week was nothing short of horrendous, a terrible tragedy that is a black mark on humanity akin to evil. And we should have a visceral, even internally violent reaction to it; that shows our humanity. However, if it sops there, then nothing has changed. Additionally, sending 'good thoughts' to someone, does not really do anything either. I have been thinking about this for years, ever since poor Elliot Rodgers shot up Isla Vista. I saw a community come together in response, but really, what does that do. The claim could be made that any of these responses that I am calling out can create within someone a heart of greater compassion and empathy, or that they could spread awareness of the issue; I am open to these arguments. But that actually does cut to the truth of the matter: the tragedy is internal before it is ever external. Allow me to reiterate before I continue, what happened in Paris is a tragedy, a tragedy that cannot be reversed; unfortunately no tragedy can be reversed. But as a society it is imperative that we fix and repair what it is within us that creates this type of tragedy, and even more, offers little in terms of practical reactions. Look, it's not necessarily a bad thing to have these reactions, but it is not enough. Donating money to relief, praying for France (if you believe that prayer has affect beyond the words), calling your loved ones to make sure that their hearts are not thoroughly grieved, and most of all, removing ourselves from the fantasy worlds in which we too often chose to dwell in order to work on our society. There is much work that needs to be done, evidenced even by the selfish reactions to the tragedy, the 'me-centered' reactions. Our society has lost its code of ethics and its desire to come alongside those who are suffering and sacrifice, suffer ourselves, to make sure that their suffering does not last and that they are treated with light at the end of the tunnel. That is something that affects change. Our all too-often pitiful excuses for feeling bad, sending good-thoughts, or changing our facebook tragedies temporarily does not cut to the heart; their are ineffective.
Let me be clear about one thing: I am a hypocrite. I did and have been praying for France, (and I should be praying for ISIS) but I have not given money, I have not opened the much-needed social dialogue that needs to be opened to talk about what to do. I have not asked France what they need in their time of suffering. But I do want to open the dialogue. I do want to challenge our society to think through where we are at as a culture, a species even, that gun violence, racism, sexual slavery, selfishness, and gross income inequality not only exist but are prevalent. Honestly, we need to take time not only personally and individually, but socially on the micro and macro levels to discuss the changes that need to be made. These changes have to start in our hearts, inwardly. We need to get back to thinking how we can love each other, how we can care about each other. The mindset needs to change from 'what can I get from this person' to 'what can I sacrifice for this person.' We need to change our personal and our collective narratives. The technology in our society allows us to be more connected than ever before with people with whom we never would have had access to before. And it has not seemed to increase compassion and generosity, but rather beat these concepts down and suppressed them. It is a terrible fact of modern culture and life. It is on us. We cannot continue to attribute these tragedies to 'the other' whomever that may be, and play the role of the victim. I am not saying that the guilty party needn't be held responsible, they very much should in ever tragedy, but while we 'feel bad', 'send good thoughts', 'offer our condolences', and change our Facebook pictures, let us also try to love France, let us also examine our own hearts and see who we possess hate towards, let us also change the selfish course of our lives such that we are utterly considerate of the plights of those around us, near and far, and include them in our narratives. Rather than focusing on esoteric 'feelings', let us seek both short-term and long-term change.
Once one group is defeated, another will not cease to step up and take their place unless we begin to think long and hard, and it will be hard make no mistake, honest, critical self-examination always is, at our hearts in order to affect change for good. And then start to put those things into motion. Do not just make it words or feelings, but actions and attitudes of the heart. Sacrifice until it cuts you, give until it hurts you, love until you feel as if you have nothing left to give, and do not dare think of yourself so highly that you can justify hate. I am not saying that I possess all of the actions or that I do not have more work to do than anybody else, I do, but I am interested in actually affecting long-term change so that maybe my kids will not be so acquainted with the inane frequency of heart-wrenching tragedies as I am. We are flying upside down. Let's start to right the ship.